He did not show up today, of course. I'm still honestly confused on whether he intends to show up, or whether he'll only come if I have more problems (she told me that if I smelled smoke again to turn everything off, leave it off, and call them back... so perhaps she meant that THEN they'd come out?) I don't know.

BUT... someone recently mentioned to me that they think he is not licensed. I need to do some more research, because I don't know anything about licensing in general or HVAC licensing specifically... but an initial search looks like his license expired more than 20 years ago (!!!). TWENTY YEARS AGO!

Isn't it illegal to perform work that you're not licensed to do? That's part of what I'm researching. I'm definitely adding this to the info that I want to present to the board... I haven't contacted them yet, I'm still getting this stuff figured out.

I'd love to just report them to the state, but the report form requires you to provide your name and address. Do they tell people who reported them? I'm nervous about retaliation. And, I kind of feel like a jerk... but on the other hand, I think... if the law says that you need to be licensed, and you let your license lapse, that's on YOU, not ME. Unlicensed for the past 20+ years, omg...

Doesn't that open the board up to some sort of liability? Shouldn't that be a basic requirement of hiring somebody to work on residents' homes?

Sophiesmom - thanks! And you're right, it DOES feel like throwing money away. It's incredibly frustrating! I wish that I could take you to the meeting with me

Justafriend306 - ha... yeah, the board is definitely a very odd entity. I have been surprised at how many things they're allowed to do/decide without getting any kind of vote from the residents. They took out a huge loan without telling anyone, for example... very scary stuff. I think that I need to follow Eskielover's advice and figure out how to get a copy of the bylaws. You used to be able to purchase them online, but I don't see that option anymore. Thanks!

Thanks Eskielover! I agree... it's crazy. I think we're in a bit of a tough spot re: money though, as our dues have gone up considerably since I've been here, and we're an older community (so we end up with a lot of repairs for the aging water lines, for example). I think they should just consider dropping the HVAC service altogether, and let us find our own providers, maybe. The way it is now, we all end up paying for our neighbors, because of the shared costs... which is a little frustrating. I would love the convenience of someone that I could call to get this stuff done, if it were actually convenient but it's clearly not working out like that!

I'm going to research the licensing issue more... and try to figure out how to get my complaint to the board.

Thank you all so much for the support, it's been a big help. I'm still in a bit of disbelief that anybody would actually yell at a customer... it's just really crazy to me!

Thanks!